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Screening highlights Arizona ethnic studies ban

Arizona teacher and Willamette University alumnus Curtis Acosta will visit campus for a free screening of “Precious Knowledge.” The film features Tucson’s Mexican American Studies program, which is at the center of a political and legal battle over the future of ethnic studies in Arizona. The film will be shown twice on Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. in the Ford Hall Film Studies Room.

Both Acosta and filmmaker Eren McGinnis will be on hand at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the film and related lawsuit. While attendees are welcome to contribute to the program’s legal defense, Acosta emphasized that no donation is necessary to attend the screening.

According to a review on the Huffington Post, Acosta “demonstrates his own resiliency and transformation as an extraordinary catalyst for change. His role ranks as one of the best documentary film portraits of a successful public educator ever made.”

In 1994, Curtis received his bachelor’s in humanities from Willamette. He earned a master’s at the University of Arizona where he is currently pursuing a doctorate. He was honored with the 2011 University of Arizona Goodman Award and the 2009 Martin Luther King Jr. Classic Dream Award. Acosta was also 2010 Tucson High Magnet School Teacher of the Year.